Piece by Piece
by SachikoScribbler
Summary: If he's not dueling with destiny, he's residing in the ancient Sennen Puzzle. Has his residence within the puzzle aid him throughout his journey? Chapter 5 is up!
1. Premonition

**Diclaimer: **I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! That's ascribed to Mister Kazuki Takahashi!

**Author's Note: **Surely this is all in good fun. To tell all of you the truth, I'm kind of winging this story, improvising. The first chapter is a little taste, and if people like it, I might just add more. If not, I may just keep this story open anyway, in case an amazing thought comes to my head. So! I hope you guys enjoy this story. It's very much related to the main plot of Yu-Gi-Oh but includes scenes that could have probably occured which coincides with Atemu's journey. So it's kind of like a "what if" thing, which is typically what a fanfiction is all about. Tell me what you think. :)

* * *

**If he's not out dueling with destiny, he's residing in the ancient Sennen Puzzle**, allowing his good friend Yuugi Mutou to continue on with his normal life. The many stages on his path towards the fulfillment of his destiny are sporadic; one can never predict when the next set of trials will come about. It was a rather difficult ordeal to endure, for by whatever means, the ancient spirit had to be ready for anything. Meanwhile, during times of peace and normality, he does not interfere with Yuugi's life and have him presume back to usual routine. See, when Yuugi solved the Sennen Puzzle three years ago (the ancient Egyptian artifact was given to him as a gift by his Egyptologist grandfather, Sugoroku Mutou), he practically kissed his ordinary life goodbye when he realized the awesome power he unlocked as well as bringing back an ancient Pharaoh (the Great Pharaoh) of 3,000 years past. Ever since, both Yuugi and the Pharaoh encountered many dangers together, the very dangers that the Pharaoh realized he had to stop in order to save the world from the ominous Shadow Magic. Ultimately, he realized that this was his destiny: to be bought back to seal the Shadow Magic...permanently.

What were these Shadow Magic, one would ask? They were simply a power to uphold a Ka, an Egyptian term for monster spirits that each individual can conjure from their being. In Ancient Egypt, they played a game called a _Shadow Game_ which is a duel between individuals of their Ka, much like the modern game of Duel Monsters Maximillion Pegasus invented in modern Japan (which is actually where Pegasus derived the idea from). Not only as a game, but the Shadow Magic was also a way to stabilize the Egyptian kingdom back in the day, protecting against opposing forces that threaten the kingdom. Unfortunately, the usage of the Shadow Magic went horribly wrong when it became abused. It bought more turmoil within the realm, such as using the Shadow Magic for wrong purposes. Another factor was that the individual's Ka reflects the person's state: a person full of light and goodness or one that is consumed by darkness and evil. Those with darkness in their hearts develop a Ka that is of that nature as well, causing a creation of perilous Ka that added on to the dilemma. To top it off, problems did not arise entirely from the abuse of Shadow Magic or the creation of evil Ka, but also from _before_ the usage of Shadow Magic.

One Pharaoh named King Akunumkanon was the creator of the Seven Sennen items. They were the Sennen Puzzle, the Sennen Eye, the Sennen Rod, the Sennen Necklace, the Sennen Ring, the Sennen Scale, and the Sennen Key. In order to create the seven items, 99 lives had to be sacrificed. Akunumkanon ordered his associate, Akunadin, to perform whatever process he needed to create the seven items, unaware that it required human sacrifice to do so. Thus, Akunadin led his troops to the village of Kuruelna and slaughtered the 99 lives there. However, as a result of this event, one survivor named Bakura grew resentment towards the Pharaoh Akunumkanon and vows to take his vengeance on him. However, the throne was given to the son of Akunumkanon which redirected the vengeance from him to the son. (The son of Akunumkanon is the Great Pharaoh that was bought back to fulfill his destiny, the spirit of the Sennen Puzzle).

Fulfilling his destiny was one thing, but understanding why he had to do this was another. It would be much easier to carry on in his journey if he had _remembered_ being Pharaoh. Sadly, this was not the case. When Yuugi solved the Sennen Puzzle and unlocked the Great Pharaoh's spirit, he had no recollection of his memory. He knew nothing of his past, of himself, not even his own name! He was not even aware of his existence until later on, when the journey officially began in Duelist Kingdom. So not only did the Pharaoh needed to obtain the seven Sennen items and the three Egyptian Gods, he had to unlock the mysteries of his past as well. Still, destiny did not have to be the obligation to unlocking his past; he had wanted to do this since the very beginning. It left the male so frustrated it often made him spend most of his time contemplating over it. So many thoughts filled up in his ironically memoryless head.

"What's on your mind?" the young Yuugi Mutou would ask the Pharaoh. Often, this would occur on a quiet day in the Game Shop (Yuugi's home), a conversation between the young tri-colored teenager and the ancient tri-colored Pharaoh. Yuugi would work on his homework or lie on his bed, staring straight up at the ceiling with his large, innocent violet orbs and the Pharaoh stood by, leaning on the wall in his apparition form. Indeed, as mentioned before, many things were on the Pharaoh's mind and Yuugi would worry. It was the last thing the ancient spirit would want to do to Yuugi: make him worry and his friends worry. Unfortunately, since the two of them were bind by one body, their mind is shared and it's hard for Yuugi to ignore the Pharaoh being so troubled.

Despite the severity of this journey the Pharaoh imposed upon the average teenage Yuugi, it bought the two of them closer than they were in the beginning, becoming really good friends. Throughout the journey, the ancient tri-colored male befriended Yuugi's friends: Jounouchi Katsuya, Honda Hiroto, and Anzu Mazaki. Never in his life had he met such committed and loyal friends like Yuugi's friends. He praises Yuugi for having such great friends that can back him up whenever he needed it. Well, for the Pharaoh, it was most certainly a must to have support. This destiny took a toll on his composure and it's always a big aid to have words of encouragement to continue moving forward even when the odds are largely against you. Many times in his journey, from Duelist Kingdom to Battle City to the Atlantis King Dartz's plan to bring about another war, there were many blows that inflicted on his mentality, like chains that bought him down to the brink of complete submission to defeat. Somehow he did not let those chains halt his determination to overcome the struggle, even though lives were at stake and lives were thought to be lost, even though it appeared so positive that he'd lose, even though he was completely alone...nothing stopped him. He made it this far, and he was determined to finalize his destiny once and for all.

However, he still had the many occulting mysteries that continue to stump the Pharaoh from further advancement of his journey. Inside the Sennen Puzzle he often inhabits, especially when there's no need to take over the one body Yuugi and himself share. The very inner workings of the Sennen Puzzle were mysterious indeed. The structure inside of the puzzle is like what the name suggested: intricate, perplex, and baffling. The structure reflected the Pharaoh's mind; the memory being a mystery to himself, the inner puzzle took form of a maze-like labyrinth. When one stands in the middle of the confusion, there are stairways and doors that can be seen everywhere and anywhere. Stairways can lead up, down, to the side, at an angle, even upside down. Doors are much the same, for stairways lead to doors. The whole labyrinth is just an off-white stoned wall and floors, making the labyrinth appear vacant. It was the epitome of the Pharaoh's loss of memory; the doors and stairways can lead anywhere and each door leads to even more confusing labyrinths. Sometimes it leads to even empty rooms. No one could predict what each door held behind it, implying the many mysteries of the Pharaoh's memories that are hidden away in the depths of his mind.

**If he's not dueling with destiny, he's residing within the Sennen Puzzle. **

Again, just being in the Sennen Puzzle constantly reminds him of the mind-bobbling frustration of not knowing his past. Wandering around the labyrinth of his mind certainly leaves him stressed. Still, whenever he had the energy to, he would search around the labyrinth, hoping that he could reach the deepest parts of his mind to uncovering some fraction of his memory. Now standing atop a staircase looking straight ahead at a door before him, a sigh escaped his parted lips, his hand on the doorknob twisting it open. As he opened it, he did not hesitate to let himself through the door, anxious to see what this 100 millionth door thus far would bring him to. Suddenly, his feet felt no ground and his entire body became weightless. By reaction, he extended out his hand, the thought of security impulsed him to grab ahold of something quick. He grabbed the doorknob. Looking down, his eyes widened with shock as he saw the floor below him at a great distance, a rather fatal distance. Because the doors and stairways are located anywhere, this doorway led to a different angle than expected. Here he was hanging from an open door gripping the doorknob and looking down at what appears to be the floor, meaning he's at the ceiling of _this room_. As he hung there, he let out a heavy sigh, his heart beating from behind his chest.

"Great." he said out loud to himself as he struggled to get out of this dangerous position. He bought his legs up, still holding on tightly to the doorknob, and with all of his strength he attempted to bring his legs up and back into the previous room he stumbled out of. This was a difficult feat especially that since this was a ceiling, it appeared to be defying gravity. Gritting his teeth, he finally got his feet solid to the ground on the previous room and with one swing, he pushed himself back into the room and closed the door quickly, closing his eyes with another sigh of relief. "That could have been very bad." he commented. It was not often he got himself into perilous situations such as that. He probably would have to be more careful. Each day, he was bewildered to notice that the structure of the labyrinth was becoming more complex, though it made sense that it would be changing for it did reflect his mind, which was constantly changing.

Averting his glance elsewhere, the tri-colored male decided to take a different route, walking towards the opposite direction to another door. Approaching a door that was horizontally-angled, he had to open it as if opening a large trunk or a wide-length bedroom window. Peering inside, he saw that the room was at a 90 degree angle compared to the room he currently inhabited. "Wait a minute..." he softly spoke as he peered closer into the room. He saw something move in the darkness of the room. Strange, he never saw anything within the puzzle. Letting curiosity take the best of him, he crawled through the door, tumbling into the ground with the irritable sudden changes in angles, and abruptly stood on his feet. He had to squint his eyes to focus on the darkness of the room. _'Okay...I know I saw something in here...'_

Suddenly, the whole room lit up with great luminosity that he had to shield his eyes from the blinding light. His knees bent a bit as he continued covering his eyes from the light, though he attempted to take a peek so that he may catch a glimpse at the source. It was a strange power, he detected a presence of something heavy, not at all a pleasant vibe. But it did activate the ancient power within the male, taking shape of a glowing eye on his forehead. That meant...that an ancient power pertaining to him was at work here!

Could this be? Could this mean that he may have found something after all?

Then the light faded, the male lowered his arm back to his side and began looking around the room. At first, he saw nothing, which greatly baffled him. Then there it was beginning to take form, outlining its shape upon the off-white stoned wall. Slowly, it began filling itself in, coloring himself with its skin tone and features. Gradually, the form of the figure was clear and its height sharply increased, hovering over the merely petite five foot tri-colored Pharaoh. Widened eyes could not stray away from the conjuring force before him. "It's...It's a Ka." he finally said after a long silence, staring up at one of the most powerful Ka he ever faced. The overwhelming presence filled the room, as if a magnetic field weighed him down to the ground, indicative of how heavy the darkness of this Ka was. Now comes the question of who is this Ka and where did it come from? Surely, this monster was of the utmost importance if it was hidden in the deepest parts of his memory. Now he knows that this Ka had very much to do with his past 3,000 years ago. But how...?

_"Hehehehe...oh Pharaoh...you repulsive thing."_ That voice! He knows that voice most certainly. Looking around quickly, he could not spot the individual anywhere, but the interloper before him cut him off by launching its large body forward to the male, ready to attack. The tri-colored male's adrenaline raced and attempted to leap out of the way, out of reach from the Ka. But precipitately, the Ka transformed into a mist of black and began encumbering the Pharaoh, shrouding around his area. It began a bloodcurdling infestation of his entire body, weighing him down and inflicting painful blows all over his system. Then he heard laughter coming from the same voice he heard just moments earlier. He struggled to fight with the shrouding mist but nothing worked, it continued attacking him, futile it was to attack the mist because it was just like attacking air.

"Nooo!!!!!" he screamed out a piercing scream, drowned out by the excessive laughter coming from the ominous voice. _"Your blood will be in my hands...__**Great Pharaoh!**__"_ Gritting his teeth, he threw a last desperate swoop towards the mist and cried out, "Show yourself, coward!!" then suddenly, he crashed, as if suddenly all the heavy weight just suddenly hit rock bottom and presumed to normal. The tri-colored male opened his eyes, meeting the slanted ceiling of Yuugi's bedroom. Blinking in utter confusion, he quickly shot up into a sitting position and looked around the room. He felt perspiration trickle down the sides of his face; he released the grip he had on his now-crinkled shirt and sighed in relief, looking down at his lap still in confusion. Here he was, in Yuugi's bedroom, not in the Sennen Puzzle no longer. Wait, did this mean he had control of the body...and Yuugi was in the puzzle now?

No, he wasn't. To his right, Yuugi lie on his bed sound asleep undisturbed. Instead, he (still in his apparition form) was lying on the new couch Yuugi had bought just a week ago (Yuugi had thought that it would be a useful extra piece to the room, considering that he always had guests in the house). He felt tension from his eyes, indicative that they were still strickened wide. He tried relaxing himself, massaging his temples with his hands and began thinking back on the situation. "So...was that all just a dream?" he asked himself, not really sure what that was he experienced back there. A premonition? Prophetic dream? Revelation? Whatever it was, it definitely was not a good sign. That voice...and that Ka. They were connected. And he was too. Looking back at Yuugi, still sleeping, more worries flooded his mind. What is the next set of danger going to bring now--on him and his friends?


	2. White Lies

**Author's Note: **This story is not entirely spent in the Sennen Puzzle. I have to make connections between Domino City and the Sennen Puzzle. And who knows? We may travel somewhere else. It depends on how my improvision is going. Most of my stories are improvised and I'm always surprised where I end up. And conveniently, it all falls into place! :) I hope it will do the same for this story. So far so good! Please review and tell me what you think. I'd love to hear from people.

* * *

Perhaps no matter where he was, his destiny follows. It was as if the God of all Fate does everything in its power to make sure he would not get away with leisure. Every moment was always stricken with the taste of what-seems-to-be adventitious occurrences, reminding him again and again of whom he was and what he's to do here in the contemporary world. One would believe that he can perform his destined duty while, in an intrinsic case of life, relieve himself in tranquility, but it seems he always has stress in his furrowed almond eyes. Yuugi saw this often. Whether he was in school, hanging with his friends and family, or going out, he would notice the Pharaoh from the side: the spirit's head bowed, his eyes were narrowed into contemplative slits, and he would remain rather quiet and lost in his thoughts.

Then there are days when the determined high school duelist would drag the Pharaoh out of his troubles and bring him into the carefree life of being a typical teenager. Well, for the young tri-colored doppelganger, his definition of the carefree fantastic fun life of being youthful is the arcade. Who would not agree? Surely, he expected the Pharaoh to agree with this idea strongly (because after all, the Pharaoh is the _King of Games_). Sometimes the Pharaoh would surprisingly tag along with Yuugi's kindness and engage in activities with Yuugi's friends. And of course, the other percentage of the times, he would urge Yuugi to go on with normality and assure him that he was fine. At least, he wanted to appear okay to Yuugi. He was selfless. He wanted Yuugi to continue with his normal life, preventing the intervention this destiny was becoming. Besides, Yuugi only had one life to live; he's not as blessed as the Pharaoh to be given another second chance at life, especially spent 3,000 years later in the modern world. It was remarkable! He gets the taste of ancient times and contemporaries, even though he was still foreign to his ancient memory with exception to the obvious, being Pharaoh of Egypt.

As of now, his mind is currently filled with the mysteries of what had occurred the night before. Nevertheless he did try to not appear so troubled, especially when Yuugi awoke that morning. The tri-colored Pharaoh sat upon the matching seat of Yuugi's work desk, his chin propped on the exterior of his hand as he watched Yuugi get ready for school. He had not realized that his expression was obviously thoughtful and had caught Yuugi in his peripheral vision, staring in curiosity. Suddenly, he brusquely removed his resting head off of his hand and before he could say anything, Yuugi was the first to speak:

"Is something the matter, Pharaoh? You're awfully quiet."

Oh, the wonders of sharing one body. Not only are their thoughts keenly sensitive to each other, but also their emotions and senses. Yuugi had felt the troubled aura emitting from the Pharaoh's sentiment.

The spirit ran his fingers through his hair, struggling to answer his aibou's reply. It's tough to be considerate of Yuugi when he knew that it was futile to avoid bothering him with his thoughts.

"You need not worry, Yuugi. I'm still a bit tired, is all," the Pharaoh explained, which he had to admit was not a very good answer, catching Yuugi's grimace.

"Why? You didn't sleep well?" Yuugi inferred with the saddened, innocent-like look on his features. It was the face of a child in the notion of disappointment when a parent promised something but ended up being cancelled for inconvenience. Every emotion painted on the tri-colored teenager was pure and so real, that the Pharaoh believed that it was the most powerful epitome of expression. The face of children is what touches people the most. There's no slightness or gray area to their thoughts and feelings; it was sole and honest.

And because of that, it created another problem for the Pharaoh to give a white lie.

Standing up straight, he approached the young school boy and placed a hand on his shoulder, a smile taking place on his usually stringent features. "It's alright, Yuugi. We have been through this countless of times. I can handle myself," he assured, receiving a childish pout from the young Yuugi, only making the Pharaoh chuckle as a result.

"Yeah, I know. But…" Yuugi protested, only letting his words drift off into uncertainty.

'_It's not fair.'_ The Pharaoh thought to himself, rehearsing the words Yuugi said so many times as his reasoning. It may not be fair, but he cannot complain. This was his duty; he could not stray from what he is fated to do, even though he was already becoming attached to Yuugi, his friends, and life here in modern Japan.

Removing his hand away from Yuugi's shoulder, his smile transformed into a grin, which usually appears more like a smirk because of his narrowed almond eyes. "Right now, your education and your life are important. So go out there, have fun, and make me proud," and with that, the Pharaoh pushed Yuugi along, out of the bedroom and jumpstarted him down the stairs. He watched Yuugi climbed down the stairs, receiving a panicky aura prick into their shared senses and laughed after he read his mind, that Yuugi was getting late for school.

Of course, since Yuugi was the holder of the Sennen Puzzle, the Pharaoh's bind spirit follows wherever Yuugi goes. From the side, within the puzzle, he watches Yuugi go about in school and other normal activities. In school, Yuugi was ironically not the brightest kid. Learning the structure of the school and how it operates, he understands what Yuugi is saying when he mentions homework, exams, projects and other academics that are crucial to his grades for when he goes to college and ultimately, his future. When exams do come, he recalls Yuugi being such a wreck, worrying over and dreading when the test days arrive; he would study afterschool with his friends. However, the two slackers of the group Jounouchi and Honda would most of the time sidetrack Yuugi's studies and play games instead. It would be no surprise that his exam scores are not ones to be proud of. One would have thought that his mind so capable of playing various forms of games, would also perform well in school with his complex thinking. But studying really makes all the difference, so the Pharaoh concludes.

With this, he decided to do some studying as well. Especially when Yuugi has history homework, the Pharaoh would join in his studies and learn a thing or two on the curriculum. There are times he would delve more into the material by reaching other sources, such as the central library in the city. After meeting with the museum curator, Ishizu Ishtar, he had wanted to learn more about himself. It was unfortunate though that when he did go to the library to look for more information on the "Great Pharaoh", there were hardly any documents. The only archaeological findings of his past were the items and that stoned carving at the museum. Destiny was really trying to make it difficult for him.

So, whenever he can, even the tiniest bit of relevant information would be embraced by the Pharaoh. Yuugi knew this, so he often did tell him things he particularly thought were useful.

Coincidentally, today during Yuugi's last period, he had a history teacher and their subject was on ancient Egypt. The Pharaoh, from adjacent, watched Yuugi take hard-core thorough notes on the subject, jotting down everything he could get from the teacher's words and what was written on the board. He was guilty seeing Yuugi this way, so determined to help the Pharaoh, though he was very grateful as well. He did not stop him because he knew that it would pay off later; this active note-taking would reflect on his grades for the quarter.

Oh! He spoke too soon. He heard Yuugi's words echo in their minds and he knew it was directed to him: _"Hey Pharaoh…"_

This startled the spirit for a moment, quickly regaining his composure as he looked to Yuugi. _"Yes?" _

"_Would you like to attend class for just one period?"_

This surprised him, a little, because he somehow knew that Yuugi would go this far to helping him.

"_But what about you?" _this reaction from the Pharaoh only made Yuugi laugh .

"_I can still listen. I'm not going to be in the puzzle waiting. I'll stay by your side…like you stayed by my side when I need it." _Yuugi quickly turned to the ancient spirit with a large smile and then presumed back to looking towards the front of the classroom. From a third person's perspective, seeing Yuugi turn his head to the right and smiling for no reason would appear strange, especially since they could not see the Pharaoh like Yuugi can. The Pharaoh nodded his head in great gratitude and performed the switch. Their souls swapped places: Yuugi taking the apparition form and the Pharaoh was existent. Opening his crimson hues, he adapted to the school environment. Looking around a bit, he can see Anzu to his left, really caught in her notes like Yuugi was earlier. In other parts of the classroom, Jounouchi and Honda were a bit far but taking notes as well, seeming to be paying more attention than any other school day. This made the Pharaoh realize: they all want to help the Pharaoh.

So, with the pencil in his hand, he hovered over, presuming to taking notes where Yuugi left off. Listening to the teacher give his lecture, he was fascinated, even though 90% of the information were hardly anything about the "Great Pharaoh". Actually, so far, there was no mention of the dubbed title "Great Pharaoh". It goes on about the pyramids built as tombs in tribute to the Kings of Egypt, leaders such as Tutankhamen and Akhenaton who made strong impact on the building of the Egyptian kingdom. And of course, a strong relation to his ancient past were the deities that the Egyptians worshipped, how they revered them and performed rituals; many of the cults took the form of animals and symbolized Pharaohs, priests and priestesses in a mythological sense. However, these information of the belief in Egyptian Gods related to what he knew so far, especially in the mentioning of the Sun God Ra, much like the Winged Dragon of Ra. To be able to make these connections of the world of Ancient Egypt was good enough, for he was able to piece it together somehow.

Still…he wanted to be sure.

Slowly, the Pharaoh raised his hand, immediately catching the teacher's attention. "Yes?" the instructor spoke, gesturing for the Pharaoh to stand, since it was the Japanese system to stand when one wishes to speak. "What is it, Mr. Mutou?"

With that, all eyes were on "Yuugi". He can see from the corner of his eye the shock in Yuugi's friends' faces. They knew that this was not Yuugi anymore, that it was the Pharaoh's spirit. It was then, standing tall over all of the other students in the classroom that he noticed Seto Kaiba was also in the room. He had forgotten that he was a student here! But seldom did he come to school. So…why today? He saw the glare coming from the CEO's features, the resentment he had for the tri-colored duelist and the sarcastic rolling of his eyes (though he can tell he was very much interested to what "Yuugi" had to say because the Pharaoh knew Yuugi rarely spoke up in class. He was still a timid one.), but the Pharaoh ignored. He needed to ask this question, for the possibility of the teacher giving him an answer was opportune.

"Is there accounts that hold information on the "Great Pharaoh" of 3,000 years ago?" he inquired.

There was a rather long silence that filled the classroom. He furrowed his eyebrows when even the teacher was silent for a moment. He prayed that she knew something but this lingering silence suggested otherwise. She was as lost as he was; this made it certain that nearly every record did not survive the present day. However, even as baffling as this question may seem, the teacher smiled joyously, happy to see that someone was being attentive on the lecture and making connections.

"Well, Mr. Mutou, that is a very good question," she said in a soft tone, placing one hand on her hip and the other reached the back of her head, probably scratching by the way her arm was moving. "Judging by your inquisition of the subject, it would seem that there are _some _since you mentioned it, meaning you caught this idea from somewhere, yes?"

Oh, right! He had forgotten. However, he can counter that reply. This teacher was an intelligent historian, he knew, because the way her lecture was structured: it flowed easy, like she was storytelling the events.

"Yes, I have learned from an Egyptian native of the Great Pharaoh. But she herself had said that many records of his days were lost. Only the stoned carving at the Domino City museum and this pendant I have around my neck prove evidence," he explained, his face never faltering by the stares of Yuugi's peers and teacher. "That is why I am asking if there are truly any written records, perhaps."

"Quite frankly, it is unfortunate that none has really been found. Scrolls made from the papyrus plant has been found but whatever form of ink they used were not preserved well, so it was illegible even to the experts…" the historian continued, her hands placed upon the history reference book open wide on her desk, skimming through it and still shaking her head. "But that is an excellent question, thank you Mr. Mutou. You may take your seat now."

"_Good question." _The Pharaoh heard Yuugi say in the back of his mind. It indeed was; the instructor went on about the subject with a jubilant attitude, encouraging more of her students to take "Yuugi's" example. Looking around the classroom, he spotted Jounouchi and Honda looking in his direction, giving thumbs up. Then to his left, he sees Anzu staring at him with a small smile on her features. She lifted up her notebook, which was bombarded with notes, just like Yuugi.

"Hey Pharaoh. I hope this session is helping you a bit," she said in a bubbly tone. The Pharaoh simply nodded his head and smiled in return. He knew he would be dismayed in the end. This journey was meant to be tough; if there are records still out there for him to access, that's just giving away all the answers to expedite his journey. He supposed his destiny had to be a struggle to overcome; because with each victory, it builds him up for the finale. Judging from the strange "dream" he had last night with the mysterious Ka and familiar voice, he could only guess what awaited him. He had to be prepared; at least, he had a feeling. He knew that the end was drawing ever closer and…he had a feeling he knows what is going to happen once they reach the end. He knew that Yuugi knew; they share the same thoughts after all. However, he knew Yuugi would not bring up this subject, because it would spare the vain white lies that come after.


	3. Difficult

"_Memory is a way of holding onto the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose." –Author Unknown_

And that makes the tri-colored ancient spirit saddened by that amazing idea. Memories are beautiful and the greatest contributor to the story of one's life, which is why there are books: they record the thoughts, memories, imaginations of human beings. He was exhibit "A" to this ideology. He came to find memories a precious, fragile concept. Everyone can relate to the instantaneous forgetfulness; like the situation where one wanted to say something but then something else intervenes the anticipated thought and completely sidetracks the memory elsewhere, to be forgotten after realization; the infamous, "I forgot what I was going to say" kind of thing. And everyone knows that when that happens, it can be the most frustrating thing ever! That was exactly how the Pharaoh felt. Though he does try to not feel so frustrated; he is in a new world, a new life, a second chance to be more optimistic! He has been through so much now that he can look back to; it may not be the greatest thing implanted in his brain but…it was a good start. He knows that when he does carry on in his fated journey, he'll recover his memories again.

Afterschool that same day, after the Ancient Egypt's historical lecture, instead of switching their current places, Yuugi urged the spirit in one of those attempts to "loosen up a bit" and insisted he walk home with his friends. It was a Friday, so as such; it was to be treated with a carefree notion. Looking at Yuugi's bright and child-like smile, it was not something the Pharaoh could turn down so easily. He swore, his innocent demeanor was more terrifying than anything he could ever overcome, and in fact, never had he done so or would want to. The last thing he wanted to do was let Yuugi down; he and his grandfather were like family to him now, including Yuugi's friends. How he has been so successful in his journey was ascribed to them after all. If he were alone, it would be a completely different story; a story that probably would never see page numbers two. As much as he detests the thought, he was very glad to make it to the final chapters of his destiny. It was his height, the "Golden Age" if you will.

He just hopes that…he would never forget these new memories he acquired from this new world.

"Hey, twin, earth to Pharaoh? What's goin' on in dat head a' yours?" came a familiar voice, short-circuiting the Pharaoh's train of thought and really did bought him back to earth. When he glanced towards the source of the voice, it was only Jounouchi with his hand half-way raised, as if in the process of knocking the tri-colored male's head due to the closed-fist display. A goofy grin took form on his happy-go-lucky features and, instead of returning his fisted hand to his side; he unraveled his tight fingers and simply gave a pat on the back on his shorter friend's shoulder. "Eh…he's alright, guys," he was referring guys to the rest of the gang: Honda and Anzu.

"Did we interrupt something important?" Anzu inquired with an uneasy expression. It was easy to read her intentions; she did not want to appear bothersome only because she worries over the Pharaoh worrying, and that just…worries him even more. Like he said countless of times, he did not want them to be so concerned with things that should only be regarded by him.

He shook his head in assurance, hoping to appease her anxiety. "No, not at all," he said, giving a smile to put certainty in his assurance. "I am content just listening to the three of you converse."

"Aww, c'mon!" Honda said, giving a light punch on the tri-colored male's shoulder. "You never joined our conversations."

"Yeah, Honda's right. We wannna hear what you gotta say." Jounouchi chimed in; putting his arm around him, adding on to the assumed plea Honda and Jounouchi were collaborating. "I mean, seriously, these are the moments you should take advantage of; when there's absolutely nothing to worry about," he laid his free arm out in front of him, as if presenting the world to the Pharaoh for the first time. "See? Look around, is there really something to freak out over?" the blonde continued on with his justification of an all-time-afternoon-just-for-fun-with-friends theory he's presenting here. First of all, the nameless figure hesitated for a moment, taken by surprise the urgency he was receiving from all three of them. He averted his gaze from the dark hazel optics of the goofy blonde to the light chestnut hues of Honda's, who had a spark of hope and anxiety in them. Right next to him stood Anzu, noticing her fists were clasped tightly, transforming into a bright pinkish tint from the pressure she placed on them. Her oceanic-blue round orbs was probably the most hopeful look he received, and that was something he should really take into consideration, not that he hadn't already considered with Honda's and Jounouchi's own pleas to the Pharaoh actually hanging out with them for once and to not at all show any hints of oppression from his destiny. The thing was, for a long time now (actually, probably since the beginning when Yuugi and the gang figured out that he was a spirit), Anzu had really been doing everything that she can to help him. At first, he was confused by her strong devotion of aiding him until he learned of the person Anzu really is. She is a cherished ally to have and lucky to be associated with. In the beginning, when she helped him face his fears of discovering his identity, it was something he was eternally grateful for. Not only about his destiny, but like Yuugi she was really the kind of person who wants the person to be content and rid of all troubling sentiments of any kind. So here, with the insistent trio trying to motivate the Pharaoh to put his hand down, forget about monsters, evil villains and destiny, Anzu is really anxious to hear the tri-colored male's reply, hoping that he would actually 100% agree to their persuasion.

Maybe it was about time that he took this time to relax and enjoy himself with his friends. It has been months really since anything had ever happened. He owed it to them for all of the troubles he apologetically imposed on them due to his journey. Come to think of it, he never really did do anything with Yuugi and his friends (with exception to the Grand Prix Tournament that was initially done out of sheer fun but ending up being another one of those caught-up moments in his journey.) Like he concluded earlier, he wanted to remember these valuable memories. He might as well begin constructing his memory album of this new life of his, so he can leave this world knowing he has something to look back upon with a smile on his face.

"You're right, Jounouchi. I should feel silly about being uptight for no reason," the Pharaoh was almost grinning when he saw the look his companies' faces: Jounouchi's arms were off of his shoulders, his jaw dropped staring at him with pure disbelief; Honda had a complete turn-around of his body (being in front of the Pharaoh as they were walking) and stared at him dead-on with widened eyes; Anzu unraveled her conjoined fingers and her eyes sparkled in delight as she spread her arms out wide, approaching the tri-colored male and embracing him into a tight hug, which was something the male did not expect, his own crimson-purplish hues widening in surprise.

"Oh Pharaoh, I'm—I mean, we're all so happy to hear that!" she squealed in pure joy, her arms still wrapped around the tri-colored male's frame, which the Pharaoh is feeling rather awkward about, his arms unable to moved being strapped by her tight embrace.

"Oh yeaahhh!" Jounouchi said in a sassy tone of voice. "We reeled 'em in and now he's wit' us!" both Honda and Jounouchi began to celebrate with a happy dance, locking one arm with each other and began to skip around in a circle, gleefully showing off their triumphant feat.

The Pharaoh continued to smile, though glancing towards the brunette whose still have him fast against him. He cleared his throat, smiling uneasily at the female in hopes of not hurting her feelings when he says this: "Anzu…could you…um…release me?" as soon as he said this, the female's eyes grew wide with realization and she immediately backed off from him, her hands slightly raised parallel to her shoulder and cheeks blushing pink from embarrassment.

"Sorry! Sorry!" she exclaimed, her hands making their way behind her head, scratching it uncomfortably. The Pharaoh attempted to give a smile to ameliorate the awkwardness lingering the atmosphere.

"It's fine, I sense your excitement from this, so I understand…" his features altered a bit as a thought came to mind. This excessive enthusiastic reaction from his friends says a lot. This just really indicates how…distant he really was for quite a while from his friends. That was a saddening thought. He is determined to expiate for the long absence of time he spent not with Yuugi's friends. He should have known that they wanted to get to know the Pharaoh more than just during duels and in crisis situations.

A smile returned to Anzu's blissful features, placing both of her hands on his right shoulder since she was standing adjacently right of him and with determination, pointed forward as she announced, "C'mon! There's so much to do at a Friday afternoon!"

"I say we go to da arcade!" Jounouchi strongly suggested, receiving a whopping support from his trusted sidekick, Honda. "I'm sure the Pharaoh would like dat, right?" on that note, the blonde youth averted his gaze to the tri-colored male with wondering eyes, though there was a hint of expectation from his awaiting features. Logically, the Pharaoh can see where this was going. Since he was, quote-unquote, the King of Games, he should be perfectly fine and actually content with spending time in the game mania of the contemporary world, the arcade. Well, that was partially true. He would like to try out with a diversity of games instead of sticking to the one style of Duel Monsters he's so accustomed to. Besides, if it is a place where his friends enjoy spending time at, then he'll gladly accompany them.

The spirit nodded his head. "Sure, let's go there first…if it's alright with Anzu?" he said, curiously glancing at the only female in the group who ended up laughing from the Pharaoh's implication.

"Oh my gosh, Pharaoh. It's fine! I have been hanging out with these guys for a long time, so I'm practically used to the arcade. I mean, as long Dance Dance Revolution is still there, then I'm perfectly fine." Anzu assured, striking her arm upward with the utmost confidence, giving a wink to add to the dramatic outlook.

Honda rolled his eyes. "Seriously, Anzu. That's _all _you do there. If we spent the whole day in the arcade, I bet bucks she'll spend time at that one game only. Don't you hear those people complaining about you hoggin' over the dance pad?" his comment made Jounouchi laugh loudly to the point where his face grew red. The Pharaoh noticed Anzu's face growing red; not out of embarrassment, but from anger. Raising a tight fist up in front of her face, she swore under her breath before confronting the dynamic duo troublemakers and pounded her fist on Jounouchi's head first before making contact with Honda's.

"Grow up, you two! I can do whatever I like there. I mean, if I'm tagging along with whatever you two want to do, I might as well content myself. It's not like you two never did anything irritable!" she growled angrily, which is something the Pharaoh quickly took note of: females are dangerous creatures.

"Oh my geezes, shuddap. That ain't true. We are fellow guys who play by the arcade's rules who don't hog a game station, unlike you." Jounouchi continued.

"Yeah right," Anzu sneered sarcastically. "I have _considerately invited _people to join me if they wanted to play. But they didn't accept it. So their loss."

"That's not what happened!" Honda yelled defensively. "You were so caught up in the game you weren't even paying attention to people around you."—

"Hey guys," the tri-colored Pharaoh's voice intervened the conversation, receiving the group's undivided attention. "Are we still going to the arcade?"

There was a brief moment of silence from the three of them; their eyes wandering to each other (throwing their last deadly glares) and finally wrapping this joint by exclaiming together in a blend, "Oh! Yeah! Right!" and they all began their trek to the nearby arcade down the street. Living in Domino City was convenient because locations are quite short-distanced from each other. One can travel from their house to their friend's place to the mall to the store and back in roughly one hour. It was that ideal. Yuugi didn't have much to worry with prioritizing. If he wanted to quickly check out something while simultaneously running an errand for his grandpa, he can do so no problem. Though a city may be such a hullaballoo at times, it was well worth it.

'Couldn't get any more creative than simply throwing a sign that light up when open in big bold letters saying ARCADE across the width of the building. The Pharaoh had recalled coming here last time with Anzu when she herself quite a while ago (three years ago, perhaps?) tried to push the lad to have an "adventure" as she called it. Beforehand, he had rather dark days, wallowing in fear over who he was and what he could be, to finding out his past. Then when that day passed, he was determined to face everything that must be endured (otherwise he wouldn't be in this point of his journey). Averting a glance to the trio adjacent to him, he noticed the duo, as usual, looking high and mighty with enthusiasm as they readied themselves a large grin and raced through the double doors without another seconds' thought. Sighing softly, Anzu shook her head watching the odd balls bluntly go wild over the games available in the arcade. Every once in a while, they would change the games offered so as to not bore their gamers. Apparently, there were some new ones offered because Jounouchi and Honda were fighting over a game station, cursing each other out and shoving forcefully to claim their spot.

"See what I have to go through," Anzu commented towards the Pharaoh, gesturing towards the only other male friends besides the Pharaoh. He simply smiled upon her remark, shaking her head as he folded his arms across his chest, watching the two of them simply being themselves.

"Well, in the end, they are having fun. I suppose that's what's important," he said genuinely, receiving a warm smile from the female in exchange to his response.

"Oh-ee! You better stop being all sentimental and put on that game face we all know and love! Y'know, out when you're dueling you like always do!" she urged the Pharaoh, spinning him around and pushing him forward to no particular direction. He was startled by her actions and stumbled forward a little, but his eyes were already searching for a game that might catch his interest. He was determined to try out something that was unrelated to the norm of his role, which were destiny-fulfilling duties. But now, he was in this for fun. Just **pure**, **simple**, **fun**.

His gaze rotating a full one-eighty, he noticed that Anzu already trotted towards the empty dance pad for the Dance Dance Revolution game Jounouchi mentioned she always spends her time playing. He can see his point now. But still, if no one was occupying the game in the first place, he supposed it's just first come, first serve.

Now what was he to do? Quite randomly, he walks up to a game station decorated in so much color and design; what a way to draw people in to try out the game. Well, so does Duel Monsters. It was quite flashy and aesthetic in its own way to push people into at least trying it out for themselves. If advertisement could at least strike some sort of interest or curiosity into the person's brain, then it has done its job. In this case, it was an old classical arcade game that all persons would claim to have played at least once: the loveable, famous Pac Man. A simple arcade game it may seem but in its odd ways, it can be considered an advanced, mind-stretching game play like Tetris. Think about it: the game does become difficult as the level proceeds higher.

The game station was slightly taller than him with a large screen taking half of the space at its front and a jutting-out portion that had all of the buttons necessary to control the game. The lower half and all around the system, opt out the large screen, is bombarded with designs of Pac Man and the circle dots consumed by the circular character, along with the colorful ghosts that serve as the only obstacles of the game. Besides, other game stations were occupied by littler children or teenagers that want to call dibs on the "cool" games. Apparently, as he had recalled Honda's and Jounouchi's discussion on games, Pac Man was a bit old. Just now, Yuugi was telling him how old Pac Man was.

"_Haha! Pharaoh, you're so funny!" _Yuugi laughed innocently, wrapping his arms around his stomach in an attempt to calm himself down.

"_What? What is so funny?" _the Pharaoh inquired, frowning a bit. With his large, child-like eyes, the younger male smiled widely towards the older tri-colored-haired male.

"_This game is kind of old. It released in 1980. You're so old-fashioned, Pharaoh," _he teased, virtually patting the Pharaoh's shoulder, watching him as he deposits two coins into the system to start the game.

"_It doesn't hurt, right? It looks fine to me," _the spirit replied, his frown rearranging to a small smile, leaning forward a bit as he applied pressure on his left arm to steady himself upon the jutting-out portion of the game station, his right hand dealing with the navigational buttons to maneuver the round-shaped figure Pac Man. As the game began the traditional music began to play, initiating the game start and off Pac Man goes, devouring the yellow dots while the colorful ghosts left its one spot and headed for Pac Man. The Pharaoh only smirked as he kept an eye on those creatures moving through the maze hastily for him. In a peculiar sense, this maze-like game reminded him of his own ventures within the puzzle. There were remote areas where must-haves, like the glowing dots located on all four corners of the maze, were located. And often, he found himself running around just like poor Pac Man. However, the Pharaoh's goal was endless and he can't say that there was really anything in his puzzle that were after him…or was there?

A descending-scales sound effect indicated _game over _as Pac Man shrivels into nothingness, having been caught by the red ghost, Blinky and the last life spent. He went pretty far in the game, but being tedious as the game play was, he had slowly lost focus and eventually lost the game. Chuckling to himself, he glances at Yuugi who grinned back at him. _"Thought you could handle it, King of Games," _he said teasingly.

"_Please. You're the true gamer, aibou. Not me," _was his comeback, receiving a flustering Yuugi who lightly hit him on his arm, but smiled appreciatively nonetheless.

"_Don't tell me that's all you're going to play? There's so much more than this--" _

"Ah, what a sight. If it isn't the famous Yuugi Mutou playing kiddy games," said a voice, interrupting Yuugi's and the Pharaoh's mind link. Immediately, the tri-colored-haired male averted his gaze to the one and only tall adolescent, Seto Kaiba. His piercing icy blue optics stared amusingly at the petite male, his arms were folded across his chest and he slowly approached with his "almighty demeanor."

"Kaiba," was the Pharaoh's acknowledgement.

"I am surprised, Yuugi. I have expected to see you putting yourself up for a challenge. But this here is quite a disappointment. This place is only for wannabe gamers…like the dog over there," the cold brunette remarked, gesturing his head over to Jounouchi, who was playing a racing game behind the wheel. Honda was close behind him.

"I will tell you, there is no such thing as silly games. A game that is created has a lot of thought put into it. The way it works, how to play, taps into complexity. So it is not your prerogative to judge that way," the Pharaoh spoke rather sternly, Kaiba being such a stubborn petulance that he always pose to be.

Kaiba sneered. "You're ridiculous," he flouted. "You can't seriously consider that…well, for instance, _hide-and-seek_, is a complex game, do you?"

He wanted to ignore him, but he was done with Kaiba undermining. "**Complextiy**…does not always mean **difficulty**, Kaiba." the Pharaoh said, his almond-shaped orbs narrowing slightly as he looked up at the CEO. "Hide-and-seek, as you suggested, is just as strategic as any other game. It has rules…correct? It involves thinking…if you think about it. One hides…the other seeks. The hiders know where the seekers are, and in games involving children, the hiders always keep a close eye on the seeker and what he or she is doing. When the hider finds an opportune moment to run without being noticed, they would take it to run to 'base'. That sort of calculation uses a level of thinking. And same for the seeker: the seeker knows that the hider is waiting for the seeker to turn his or her back. So the seeker too has to be mindful of that. And also, with multiple hiders, if a seeker is busy trying to tag one hider, the other hiders would take _that _opportunity to run to base, right?"

Receiving rolling eyes from Kaiba, the Pharaoh did not hesitate to continue: "…And the game of hide-and-seek is often used metaphorically in the real world, am I right?"

He found the brunette male snarling at him when he finished. Kaiba uncrossed his arms, placing them at his side and only shook his head, his features dismayed.

"You're a joke, Yuugi…only _you _would make things sound so difficult," he muttered.

"Wrong, Kaiba. It's only fact. Why do you detest admittance?"

"Don't contradict me, Yuugi. I think _you _should admit the truth. You're difficult."

The Pharaoh frowned. Him, difficult? He was slightly impeded by Kaiba's words. He never actually thought of himself difficult. Well, sure he was difficult to understand because of his current situation…always the contemplator, the reserved one, hidden in the shadows of the sennen item. But did he really make things difficult? Did he bring so much difficulty for Yuugi and his friends…and to his journey? Looking upward at Kaiba now, appearing smug as usual, he can only return an distressing expression. He might as well admit to him…not only because he knows it to be true…but to actually give Kaiba the satisfaction of being right.

"I suppose…I suppose you're right, Kaiba," the Pharaoh spoke softly.

Now here is where tall male gives a completely surprised expression, his eyes larger than the moon. As quickly as his surprise came, his smirk returned to his features, beginning to laugh loudly so that all people currently in the arcade could witness the 'Kaiba humiliating Yuugi act'. Jounouchi and Honda stopped what they were doing, their eyes turning to the scene that was brewing nearby. As soon as the blonde caught sight of Kaiba, he formed two fists with an angry look, ready to bark: "Gah! What's rich boy doin' here?" ready to launch at one of the top authorities in Domino City, Honda quickly held him back so that Jounouchi would not create a real scene. Nearby, Anzu dancing away at Dance Dance Revolution, she quickly abandoned her game when she heard the familiar laughter filling the arcade. Her eyes widened in shock when she realized that Kaiba and the Pharaoh were going at it. _'Oh no!' _she thought to herself as she climbed off the dance pad and walked closer towards the scene, her two hands close to her face. As she did so, she heard this sentence being said:

"Ha! I knew you were pathetic. Now you realize how much discomfort you bring to your so-called friends like you bring to me."

The Pharaoh's eyes widen in shock with those gut-punching words. They began reiterating in his mind. _'You bring discomfort to your so-called friends.' _As if he was foreign to these words before. He had…considered the idea plenty of times before. But to actually receive these depressing words from another person, it truly…it truly hurts. He almost wanted to turn away—no—run away from where he was standing. He wanted so much to believe that Kaiba was wrong. But it was nearly impossible when he too felt that it was true. But he couldn't run away. He knows where he stands.

Infuriated by Kaiba's rudeness, she was so close to stepping in to the very scene…until the Pharaoh himself spoke up.

"Now that is where you're wrong again. I'm sorry if my interpretations seem difficult for you. But you're going the one who needs to admit the truth. You're making things difficult by undermining those who oppose your way. How pathetic is that, Kaiba. Your acute behavior is discomforting."

He sees that Kaiba's lips were parting, ready to say something in protest but the words never came. So he decided to fill the unfulfilled silence. "You're right…hide-and-seek is a simple game. It is only the players that determine the difficulty of the game."

Kaiba gritted his teeth in frustration. He was tired of hearing Yuugi continuously trouncing him not only in games, but in sensibility as well. Yes, he found the tri-colored-haired male's statements making perfect sense indeed, but he would not accept defeat to Yuugi. His business here in the arcade was wholly tarnished, thanks to the short duelist. With a grunt, he whirled around angrily, his stiffening stature evident by his tightening fists that were by his sides. The Pharaoh saw this and he did not say anything. He would not want to test Kaiba's temper. He can really imagine Kaiba as the type to get physical when he's pushed pass the limit.

"Say whatever you want, Yuugi. It doesn't matter to me what you think. But know this," he turned his head around to look back at the spirit, the rotation of his head stopped to where he could only see the smaller male at an angle. "If this world was a game of hide-and-seek, there's more than one seeker. And seekers are your biggest cheaters."

The double doors of the arcade began swinging as Kaiba forcefully pushed the doors open and disappeared without another word. The Pharaoh stood there silently watching him, intently thinking of those words in his head. He hear Anzu's voice addressing him, her hand taking his own as she tried to talk with him but he was already lost in his thoughts. Seekers…as cheaters? That was an interesting ideology. Thinking back on the strange dream he had the night before, he wondered if it had anything to do with it. Whenever he was inside the puzzle, he would detect strange presences…multiple presences…all around the puzzle, lingering within his vicinity as if they were eyeing his every move. And now the very experience he felt in…that "dream", he wondered if he found the must-have remote area, a glowing dot in a Pac Man game. Now that it was open…was he being seek out? Or…had he always been seek out since the beginning of his journey?


	4. Learning

**A/N: **That was a long hiatus since I last wrote! But surprisingly, this chapter did not take me long to type. How strange. Maybe I had a little writer's block. Well, this chapter is a little filler, though I don't want t call it that. Like I said, I'm improvising, but I like this chapter actually. I hope that this chapter leads to more ideas and implications for future chapters. We'll just see how it goes, of course!

* * *

Back in his mind again—his divided mind shared by his host Yuugi, and he the mysterious one himself. He thought deeply about the conversation he had with Kaiba yesterday. After Kaiba left, the whole gang quickly approached him and asked him if he was alright. Jounouchi, being the hot-headed one of the group, vowed to hold him down while the Pharaoh punches, but of course, it was not a mutual agreement. They were all pretty much upset of Kaiba's offensiveness; however, he assured them to pay no mind. Some of what Kaiba says are logical and can be of some use to him, even though he was really being rude. But again, was it really a surprise? They know Kaiba. Obviously the snobby duelist they all knew for so long is immutable in character: cold, aloof, and definitely the biggest arch rival he had. In most cases, Kaiba can't stand letting him win, in _anything._

Yuugi was worried too but the Pharaoh noticed that the smaller male didn't attempt to bring up the subject. There was no use for it. Yuugi knew what the Pharaoh's exact words will be and the Pharaoh knew that Yuugi would be concerned. Being together for so long, they really know a lot about each other—well, more so for the Pharaoh than Yuugi because of the current condition.

Early morning welcomes Domino City, just like yesterday morning, with Yuugi sound asleep in bed, enjoying the weekend as much as possible. The Pharaoh is very much familiar with the routine in the Mutou residence, especially weekends. Unlike Yuugi, he is not capable of just lying down even when he's not tired. This was probably because he was too anxious for it: always thinking, always contemplating, and always worrying himself to death. The spirit knew no liberation most of the time, hence is why Yuugi tries to bring that freedom. However, the small youth would often be dismayed by the Pharaoh's non-cooperation. But simultaneously, the Pharaoh doesn't want to burden. Their own seemingly selfless deeds are in conflict with one another, the Pharaoh realizes this. Perhaps, they should really have a talk…or the Pharaoh should **really **consider straightening himself out and getting his act together. He had to admit, this was getting ridiculous!

In his apparition form with his arms cross, his almond-shaped orbs stared at the slumbering aibou intently with a soft smile. He was trying his best to not to think too much and enjoy the present moment. The tranquility, the quiet, he was finally breathing in the fresh air of peace. Never had he felt so relaxed; he could feel his muscle loosening the tensions, the knots on his shoulders unwinding as his broad shoulders hunched over slightly, his body following forward as he leaned over, his forearms resting on his knees. He sat on the wooden chair, watching Yuugi for a little. Every now and then, he would look towards the window and catch himself in awe of the beautiful rays of sunlight permeating through the glass window. It was enchanting—the world was. Oh, how he missed so much from confining himself in the shadows of his puzzle. He picked it up gingerly with his one hand, tilting it an angle towards him. He looked briefly at the eye engraved in the center of the upside-down pyramid. Just touching the golden puzzle, he can feel the grainy sands of the Egyptian deserts, old as time. He thought that this can probably bring him closer to his past, but it was just an acknowledgement, not a blast from the past.

He was only learning his past…not remembering.

He stood up, sighing to himself. "Look at me: what am I doing?" he said, raising his hands to his head and massaging his temples. He tried to alleviate his stringent stature, as Yuugi would try to do by taking his index fingers, taking the Pharaoh's lips and widening the ends upward to create a smile. But that was only stretching it. However, it partially worked because the Pharaoh chuckled by the younger one's adorable attempt. He walked over to the edge of Yuugi's bed and noticed Yuugi's peaceful expression. Even when the boy was awake, he can see peace in his eyes most of the time. He envied Yuugi for it, not in the negative fashion of course.

He closed his eyes, pausing a bit as he gathered his energy to return to the puzzle for another excavation of his mind. He was hesitant at first. He wondered if he would run by suspicious or stranger activity within the artifact like the other night. Furrowing his eyebrows awkwardly, he recognized that it had been a dream, but something tells him that it was more than that. Reopening his eyes, he finds himself in the split path between the doors to Yuugi's soul room and his own. He looked to Yuugi's side of the room—a much brighter side—and smiled. He often was curious and wanted to venture into Yuugi's mind, but he felt that he would snoop around in Yuugi's privacy, as if he did not know that one secret of Yuugi crushing on Anzu. It was obvious to him, surprisingly. And he was not so sure if it was good that he can see these kinds of connections. He tried to ignore it as best as possible. Psh—like it's working! He sometimes made implying comments about Yuugi "impressing" Anzu.

Then there was his side of the field: dark, inexplicable, concealed in shadows. He can barely remember the first time he awoken in the labyrinth. It felt like…he had always been there, like he's inhabited the place for as long as he can remember. It made sense, being spirit for 3,000 years this far; it would seem he was in that labyrinth place for as long as he slept when the puzzle was in pieces. He unintentionally sighed to himself as he approached the strange door to his mind. He touched the cold texture. It felt like stone. He supposed that stone was a perfect texture representing emptiness and vacancy. He searched for the doorknob, not bothering to look down to save him time. When his hand finally found it, he twisted it open and allowed himself entrance to the intricate maze of his mind yet again—if it really was again, of course. He entered expecting to see something different about this place, but there was nothing: just never-ending, odd positions of staircases and doors, all in stone, all dull and empty. He wondered if it was really worth looking through countless doors, meeting disappointment each time.

…However!

He recalled being here with Yuugi last time and finding themselves opening a door to blank whiteness. Then…they heard the voice of the Dark Magician Girl, finding themselves falling into a vortex which led them to the world of the monster spirits, or known as Ka. So…his puzzle led them to another world, in that respect…or a memory of this other world. Could this mean that he can find more like it? He wanted to try…but he was discouraged by the enormous size of this labyrinth. It would take forever until he encounters something particular.

"Maybe just a little…"—

"_Ahh…it's morning already…" _came a voice that interrupted his train of thoughts, echoing in his mind. Without delay, he recognized the voice to be Yuugi's—well, Yuugi thinking to himself actually, but recall that they share minds, so the Pharaoh heard Yuugi thinking to himself and apparently, the small doppelganger just woke up. He restrained himself from chuckling at Yuugi's adorable demeanor.

"I might as well greet him hello. Then again, he can probably sense me as I speak," he said to himself, which is something he does often. Gazing up at the endless wide labyrinth around him, he gathered his energy once again to exit out of his mind and return back to reality, in Yuugi's bedroom. He appeared in his apparition form, sitting on the edge of Yuugi's bed (his usual spot in the morning whenever he greets Yuugi).

"Ah! Pharaoh, there you are!" Yuugi greeted in a chipper manner, smiling brightly. He stretched his arms up high and a yawn escaped his lips. "Aiee hahhd…uh gewd sleep," he struggled to say through his yawn. Covering his mouth to finish his yawning, he rubbed his eyes shortly after, ridding of the morning tears in his eyes. "How about you? Did you sleep well…?"

The Pharaoh smiled a small smile. He can tell that Yuugi was about to add in, "I hope," to his question but decided against it. It was very much like him to make abrupt decisions like that. He reached over, irresistibly, ruffling the young teen's spiky hair and grinned. "Yes, I slept fine," he answered truthfully. He actually really did, for once. It was his attempt to un-worrywart himself. The afternoon yesterday spent with Yuugi's friends was a good break for him, with exception of Kaiba. But then again, Kaiba wasn't much of a stressor anyway.

Yuugi pouted when he received such a gesture from the Pharaoh and crossed his arms. "I'm not a little kid, you know," he whined.

"Continue with that tone of voice and I won't believe you," the Pharaoh continued the irresistible temptation. He couldn't help but to prolong the fun. Yuugi gaped; staring at him with a look of disbelief as he lightly nudged the Pharaoh.

"Geez! What's up with you? Why are you picking on me todayyy?" he drawled, furrowing his eyebrows even more with a "supposed-to-be" mad expression, but it didn't work. The Pharaoh let out a hearty laugh that even surprised him. He didn't know where this sudden energy was coming from. Was he inspired? Did his body start to unwind itself and pleaded for the freedom and leisure it longed for.

"Whining won't compensate your maturity," he continued, standing up on his feet with his hands on his hips, staring down at Yuugi with a smile. Yuugi blinked a bit, puzzled by the Pharaoh's brighter mood but did not question. Instead, he grinned happily by this and decided to prolong it further. He wanted the Pharaoh to be carefree for as long as possible.

"Hm…so you weren't lying when you said you had a good sleep! That's good news," Yuugi remarked, standing as well, stretching more as he outstretched his two arms so as to stretch out his torso. "Glad to see this sunny side of you for once, pal."

The Pharaoh tried his best to not show any indication of bittersweet expressions. It would only make Yuugi take back what he said. Those words made him sad to know that Yuugi noticed; then again, it wasn't a surprise.

"I'm sorry if I failed to showcase this side of me,"

"No worries, don't sweat it. I understand," Yuugi lifted one of his arms, making a silly attempt to flex his muscles. "You always have my back. So I should always have yours."

"I suppose, but…"

"But it's okay! Honestly. Don't let your energy fade away, now!" he said, another pout forming on his lips. "We need to take advantage of your newfound energy while we still can, am I right? You have been thinking about this _Un-worrywart Myself Plan _for how long now?" he can only grin widely when he noticed the Pharaoh's embarrassed expression of being figured out by his little pal. "There are so many things about you I don't understand, but when you let yourself go, you learn more things that don't require memories. It's just who you are. Right now, I'm learning more about your character as we speak."

He guessed this was why he has grown close to Yuugi. Even though he appears childish and innocent, he does have a hidden wiser side to himself. Yuugi was the perfect light to the shadowy darkness of his troubled times. He was proud to call him his close friend. Giving a warm smile, inspired by the mini speech Yuugi had just given, he approached the smaller male and pulled him into a gentle hug. Yuugi didn't expect this action from the Pharaoh at all. At first, he didn't know what to do or say when he suddenly gotten close to the Pharaoh's frame. It was strange: he had recalled that the Pharaoh was in his apparition form and would usually pass through him. But as time goes by and the closer they become, the more he can actually feel him despite his spirit form. He felt the Pharaoh's strong arms pulling him in that embrace. Pushing that aside, sticking to reality, he only smiled when he returned the hug to the Pharaoh. Maybe it was really just something the spirit needed.

"Thank you, Yuugi," the spirit spoke softly. He moved away from the embrace, returning his gaze to Yuugi, staring him straight in his large eyes. "Never again will I shy away from you, since there is no use to hiding my feelings, my burdens, and my worries from you. I should've known that our sentiments are mutual and shared and I'm practically stuck with you for as long as destiny allows it. But at least we're going through this together."

"Right!" Yuugi cheered in determination. "That's the Pharaoh I know!" he folded his arms across his chest and gave another playful grin, something not seen from Yuugi so much in actuality. Now there was something new he learned about Yuugi as well: Yuugi had a tiny hint of sass. "Now show me more of what I don't know about you."

The Pharaoh blinked in bewilderment. "Just how am I going to do that, Yuugi?" he inquired curiously.

"Let's find out. Just follow me. I'm going to go get breakfast," suddenly, the boy started to laugh. "Ahaha! I forgot. You have no choice! You _have _to follow me!"

The Pharaoh somewhat gave an uneasy smile. He thought to himself how breakfast can show one's character. Well, he supposed that however the person performs a normal routine can convey some identification of personality. That was his supposition. It wasn't for certain. Ah, forget the rationalities!

"Who knows?" Yuugi continued. "Maybe this day can be the day to learn something new. Whether it's something you want to learn or not, might as well give it a shot, right?"

He loved Yuugi's determination, more than anyone knows, even himself. He usually held that determination. But in cases like this, he can't help but to be held back by fear. He was afraid to learn of something that was not in his favor. But Yuugi, he's ready to embrace it. He can infer that Yuugi's been through enough to handle it on his own. He's a stronger character than anyone would give him credit for. The Pharaoh had seen this potential since the beginning. But each day, the Pharaoh finds himself more and more witnessing firsthand Yuugi's hidden strength. Little by little he learns of Yuugi's other sides…and he begins to realize that even acquiring his past memories won't stop him from learning about himself.


	5. Reminder

"**Breaking News! Seto Kaiba is at it again! Three weeks from now, Kaiba is hosting a tournament that'll hit national all over Japan. Rumors say it may go global again for another Grand Prix tournament like the one seven months before. However this time, Mr. Kaiba agrees to collaborate with Mr. Maximillion Pegasus…"**

The television set in the living room blasted at high volume out at the elderly Mutou, who stood with his arms cross, staring intently at the news broadcast prating about another Duel Monsters tournament. Yuugi, with of course the Pharaoh close by in his apparition form, stopped dead in his tracks before entering the kitchen, and motioned his way slowly towards the living room. His large orbs looked curiously at the television screen, glancing at his grandfather briefly before returning his gaze towards the television.

"Another tournament? Already?" Yuugi inquired in shock. He saw his grandpa nod his head.

"Yes. And apparently Kaiba is going to work with Pegasus this time."

Yuugi thought back on the encounter with Kaiba at the Game Shop. He wondered if meeting with him had anything to do with the tournament that just declared itself to the public.

"**More information on the tournament will be notified later tonight. You may visit our news website or call the Kaiba Corporation's number for further details."**

"Well, lucky you, Yuugi. Another tournament just for fun. With Pegasus to make things more interesting, who knows the possibilities this tournament may bring!" Grandpa Mutou exclaimed with an optimistic smile forming in his old features. He approached his grandson, patting his shoulder before making his way to the kitchen.

"_More like the possibilities of more danger, if you ask me," _Yuugi thought to himself, scratching the back of his head as he watched his grandpa walk off to the other section of the house. He knew this for certain: whenever a tournament was made known to him (and especially him), weird things coincide with the tournament. The Grand Prix tournament was close to being normal, but not quite when Kaiba's personal issues crossed paths with him. Who would've thought that he had to save the day yet again? When this thought was made clearly in his mind, he can hear the spirit laughing in their mind link. Not long after, the Pharaoh made his presence known as he stood before the smaller tri-colored haired male.

"Fear not, Yuugi. Don't let our destiny get in the way of what you want to do. If something does happen, let it. We can always take care of it," the Pharaoh assured.

"Yeah but…"

The Pharaoh stopped Yuugi with a wag of his finger. "Where was that optimism of yours earlier? I thought we had agreed to let things happen as they should."

Yuugi nodded his head, smiling. "Yeah, I know Pharaoh. But I don't want you to feel like you're responsible for everything."

The Pharaoh chuckled lightly, approaching the younger Yuugi and placing his hand on the other's shoulder gently. "I appreciate your concern, but you do realize that I am not alone, right?"

Yuugi grinned. "Right! We're doing this together!"

"Alright! That's what I wanted to hear," the Pharaoh returned the enthusiasm with a confident smile of his own. "And like you stated: who knows? It may actually be fun this time."

"Right!" Yuugi chimed in with an excited expression. "Whoa! I gotta call the others. They have to hear this!" and with that, the young teen dashed up the stairs to find his cell phone; he had to go through a hassle of his cluttered belongings to find his cell phone buried underneath his clothes. "Geez…I really need to clean my room," he muttered to himself. When he finally got a hold of it, he dialed the number and the phone began to ring.

"Heeello," drawled the familiar voice with a strange accent.

"Hey Jounouchi! Did you hear about the…"—

"Yeah! I sure did!" interrupted the blonde. "I'm actually right in front of your Game Shop. Along with Anzu, Honda, and Ryou. Come on out, little bud."

Yuugi flustered a bit, seemingly caught up short. He should've known that his friends would be right on top as he was. "R-Right…of course."

"Well? Get going, Yuge!"

Yuugi immediately hung up the phone, threw his clothes together on him and speeded down the stairs, yelling a brief farewell to his grandfather and went outside to meet his friends standing there with smiles on their faces. Yuugi had to smile back; he was always glad to be with his friends.

"Hey guys!"

"Heya Yuge, we were waitin' for ya," Jounouchi spoke first, holding up the cell phone in his hand that was utilized for their conversation minutes ago, obviously as an instrument of tease.

"Don't listen to him, Yuugi," Honda said, shaking his head. "We just got here."

"Yeah, and we would have been here sooner if Jounouchi didn't act so rudely to an elderly woman along the way," chimed in Ryou, who gave a disappointed look at the blonde male. His eyebrows were crooked, altering his features to look uneasy.

"Elderly woman?" Yuugi uttered, staring at Jounouchi curiously who turned away a bit, muttering to himself. "What happened?"

"Well, she was coming at our direction and we were moving her direction. So as soon as we were close enough, the woman approached us and seemed like she was asking us directions," Anzu explained, her face growing more irritated as she thought about the situation.

Yuugi wasn't quite catching on. "Seemed?"

"Well, she was foreign. She was speaking in another language. But we could tell she was lost because she was holding a map to us," Honda clarified, Anzu nodding her head as if to agree with him. "So we were kind of at a loss of what to do."

"And then this big-mouth over here rudely got angry with the woman and told her in our native tongue that we didn't understand and we can't help her. I mean, it was true, but he was so rude. Then the lady was mad at us and began yelling at us in her native tongue…" Anzu continued, shaking her head with a heavy sigh.

"And things just escalated from there," Ryou finished.

It was kind of comical that Yuugi's friends ran into this, but what else was there to say about it? All he could do was laugh at them. "Well, there's another odd story to tell to others, right?" he said.

"I suppose," Anzu turned her gaze to Jounouchi, then approached him giving him a smack on the forehead. "If you weren't so rude, we would have not been delayed for a good fifteen minutes."

"What? I said I was sorry! What else do you want me to do?" Jounouchi cried irritably.

"To never act that way again."

"Well I don't see anymore more old ladies to redeem myself, Anzu."

"I'm just saying…in the near future, don't do something like that."

"Alright, alright. Sheesh," the blonde looked to Yuugi with a pleading look in his eyes. This was typically what happens. Anzu was like the mother figure to Jounouchi, especially when the blonde got himself into trouble. It was actually very amusing to watch them both go at it. Not that Yuugi never been victimized of Anzu's nagging; there were times when Anzu was upset with Yuugi's poor decisions and would nag him about how he shouldn't have done this, to act more responsible, and etc. He supposed being the only girl in the group can do that.

"Yuugi, do something. Make her shut up. She'll listen to you," Jounouchi said, receiving a deadly look from the tomboy.

"I have a suggestion!" Ryou said loudly, grabbing the attention of the group. "Why don't we move along and attend to our business…which by the way…what is it that we're going to do?"

The gang had their lips parted slightly, but all of them closed their mouths slowly as they all began to ponder on it. They never really thought it through. They just thought about getting together.

"Well…information on the tournament is not until tonight," Yuugi mused. "Maybe we should go and check things out for ourselves?" he continued with a questioning tone of voice.

"You mean go visit Kaiba?" Honda pitched in, receiving a nasty look from his close blonde friend adjacent to him. They all had to laugh at him already, before Jounouchi can make a crass remark about the CEO of Kaiba Corporation. Those two always had a long history of hiss and bark, but what can they do? With Jounouchi's stubborn attitude and Kaiba's willingness to prolong the argument, especially by means of humiliating the blonde male, there was no stopping their rivalry.

"How about we simply walk around? Wondering aimlessly may get us somewhere in the long run," Ryou simply suggested.

"Yeah, I agree with Ryou!" Yuugi chirped brightly, beginning a head start as he power-walked towards the inner city of Domino, receiving calls from his friends behind him to wait up. The teen didn't want to admit it, but he has been feeling strange auras for the past couple of days, none that he ever mentioned to the Pharaoh especially. It would only make him worry, as if the ancient spirit was not worried enough. And as host, he did his hardest to block some of his mind off from the spirit. He wondered if this was to the Pharaoh's knowledge. He sure hoped not. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt the spirit.

"Yuugi? What are you doing just standing there? We're going now!" Anzu called out to the petite male, waving her one hand in the air to catch Yuugi's attention. Apparently having lost himself in thought, Yuugi snapped back to reality, his large violet orbs veering up to the scene before him, where his friends stood about a good distance ahead of him now. Chuckling awkwardly to himself, scratching his chin lightly, he called out in response:

"Coming!"

He immediately caught up to them, receiving a tight embrace around his neck from Jounouchi, laughing teasingly when Yuugi reacted struggling to break from his strong grasp. The whole gang laughed; this was a typical way they hung out and little by little, it constantly fuels their bond. This day was just a small piece of the larger scope of their close relationship, and a small fragment of the big picture on which they spend so much time together. Sometimes, in these kinds of moments, the Pharaoh stands by with a warm smile on his face, receiving a subtle spark of bliss from watching this. It was a beautiful thing to see something so simple as friends having a good time together. He found this a great privilege to be a part of their lives.

He will never forget them.

His thoughts were disturbed when Yuugi, as he was about to presume walking, tripped over his own feet and collided with the hard ground beneath him, leaving the gang too stunned to say anything for a good five seconds. The Pharaoh stood there in shock as well, eyes widened, and his lips parted but no words came, for he was at a loss of words.

"Dude! Are you alright?" was Jounouchi's first utterance before a flush of pink reached his cheeks, his head thrown back as he began to laugh loudly. Then the blonde felt a sharp pain on his calf, almost causing him to fall on his knee, immediately averting to the source of his pain. He wasn't surprised to see a fuming Anzu standing adjacent to him, giving a deadly glare before approaching Yuugi's side.

"Hey, Yuugi. You okay?" she asked, reaching out to the short male's shoulders to help him stand on his feet. Yuugi responded with a groan, lifting himself to his hands and knees at first, face scrunched to indicate the pain he was feeling and with the help of Anzu, stood up again on his feet.

"I-I'm fine," he assured, but the cross-eyed look on his features suggested that he was a little dizzy.

"Whoa, Yuugi, you really should be careful," Ryou chimed in, reaching over to brush off some of the dust from his clothes. "Oh! Yuugi, a piece of your puzzle is out of place…" as the white-haired male reached over to push the piece back in place, he felt a sharp jolt surge through his entire body, causing him to yelp and back away a good five feet. The whole gang saw this and they turned to Ryou, again dumbfounded of what just occurred. Yuugi, with his nerves regaining composure, noticed this sudden act by Ryou and arched an eyebrow in bewilderment.

"Bakura, are _you _okay?" Honda inquired, approaching the white-haired male curiously. "Is it because of the connection with Yuugi…maybe like…you felt the pain that he felt?"

"Whoa now, you're just becoming complicated, Honda. There's no way it can work like dat. I mean, sure they have their Sennen item thingy…" Jounouchi said, rubbing the back of his head as he looked from Ryou to Yuugi and then back to Ryou.

"I-It's nothing," Ryou lied with a weak smile, not very convincing to the most observant of persons, referring to the Pharaoh who stood idly by. He examined Ryou carefully; when the boy touched the Sennen Puzzle, he saw a spark between the ring and the puzzle. It was the aura of the ring's spirit's desires. The desire, the hatred, the darkness inside of the thief is so strong that it can actually be seen in its definite form as an aura, like energy. The thought of Bakura again reminded the Pharaoh of the dream the other night. He remembered the familiar laughter he heard in that particular chamber that apparently belonged to a clouded memory of his, holding a mysterious and powerful creature. There were connections; he knows this. But it was difficult to put the pieces together, especially since he did not have any to begin with.

Of course, he kept it to himself. This was something only he can deal with alone. His own personal memories. But now he knows that whenever it is most necessary, he will ask Yuugi for assistance. He recalled how the two of them had ventured into the world of the monster spirits within his puzzle. They can most certainly venture again through the intricate maze.

Yuugi blinked, seeing that Ryou was rubbing his hand soothingly, as if the touch of the puzzle had burned him. He wondered if it really had anything to do with the connection the two of them have, especially being hosts of spirits of the items. But he decided against prolonging this situation. "I'm fine guys, really," Yuugi spoke out, making it seem that they were still in the topic of him being clumsy enough to trip. Despite the past situation, Yuugi began running again, yelling back at his friends saying: "Last one to the pizza place has to buy us all pizza!"

"OH! You're ON!!!" Jounouchi exclaimed in a determined voice as he sprinted after Yuugi, followed by the rest of the group, laughing along the way. It was moments like these where danger subtly creeps along with them, and destiny was definitely making its move.


End file.
